Collapsible box.



B. SILVERSTEIN.

GOLLAPSIBLE BOX.

APPLIOATION HLED MAR. 23, 1909.

Patented June 8, 1909.

WITNESSES' ms Noam: PETERS cu., wAsmNm'oN. n. c.

il IT S nrs COLLAPSIBLE BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .Tune 8, 1909.

Application filed March 23, 1909. Serial No. 485,195.

To all whom itmay concern.'

Be it known that I, BARNET SILVERSTEIN, a subject of the Czar of Russia, and resident of the city of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Boxes, of which the following is a specification. ,y y

The present invention 'relates to collapsible receptacles, and isspecially useful as a holder for milk bottles, groceries and the like, at places where there is a constant danger of unauthorized persons appropriating the bottles and other articles after they have been delivered.

One obj ect of the invention is to provide a receptacle of the character specified, which may be attached to a door, window or to the wall of the building, and which may be folded or collapsed when not in use so as to occupy as small a space as possible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, durable and inexpensive receptacle, which can be locked by forcing the swinging cover thereof toward the sides of said receptacle, but which can be unlocked only from the inside of the house, to the outer side of which said receptacle is attached.

Other objects and advantages of the in vention will be apparent from a reading of the specification and an examination of the drawings, forming part of the present application for Letters Patent.

The invention consists, generally speaking, of a collapsible receptacle, attached to a suitable support, such as a door, window or wall, and being provided with a latch adapted to engage a recess in or a keeper on one of the sides of the receptacle, which latch may be retracted from the inside of the house by means of a handle, connected by means of a flexible connection, leading through the support, to the latch.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the device in its extended position, Fig. 2 a horizontal section taken on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 an elevation of the device in its collapsed position.

In the drawings, the numeral 4 indicates `a portion of a door or other suitable supbent flanges 8, 8, whereby a rim is formed on said base plate, for a purpose hereinafter to be described. The three other sides of the receptacle are indicated at 9, 10 and 11, of which the side 10 is made of `one integral piece, while sides 9 and 11 are both made of a plurality of sections. In the device illustrated in the drawings, the side 9 is made of two sections, 12 and 13, each of which is provided with extensions 14, 14, forming sleeves in which is arranged a hinge pin or rod 15. In a similar manner the side 11 consists of two sections 16 and 17, provided with sleeves 18, 18, to receive the hinge rod 19. The sections 13 and 17 of the sides 9 and 11,

respectively, are hinged to the base plate 6 in `lines which form the inner edges 6 and 6 of the rim of the base plate, while the sections 12 and 16 of the sides 9 and 11, respectively, are hinged to the side 10 of the receptacle. The coverof the receptacle is denoted by the numeral 20, preferably, hinged to the outer edge of the top flange of the base plate 6 of the receptacle, and is provided with a downwardly bent edge portion 21, engaging therside 10 of the receptacle, when in its extended position. The bottom 22 is hinged at 23 to the lower end of the side 10 and rests upon the lower portion of the rim of the base plate 6 when the receptacle is extended.

The locking mechanism of the box includes a latch 24, slidably arranged in guides 25, 25, arranged upon the cover 2() of the ree ceptacle, and being kept thereon by a cover plate 26, attached to said cover in any suitable manner. A spring 27, one end of which bears against a projection 28 of the latch 24, while the other end engages one of the guides 25 of the cover 20, serves to retain the latch in operative engagement with a recess 29, or its equivalent, formed in or on the side 10 of the receptacle. The free end of the latch is attached to a flexible member 30, such as a chain, rope, etc., leading through holes 31 and 82, in the cover plate 26 and base plate 6, respectively, and through a h ole 33, formed in the support 4, and has attached thereto a handle 35.

To the front side 10 of the receptacle is pivoted a, preferably, y'T-shaped member 36, provided with a handle 37, whereby the receptacle may be pulled from its closed position into its extended position; the T-shaped member serving, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, to keep the cover 20 in engagel. (l O ment with the front side 10 of the receptacle when in its closed position, whereby the receptacle is locked in such position.

The operation of the device is as follows: By disengaging the latch Q4, in a manner hereinafter to be described, with the recess 29 in the front side l0, the bottom 22 of the receptacle may be turned into the plane of the front side 10, whereafter the sections 13 and 17 of the sides 9 and ll, respectively, are brought to lie in the plane of the base plate 6, which operation will at the same time bring the sections 12 and 1G of the sides 9 and ll, respectively, and also the front side l0 in planes parallel to the plane of t-he base plate 6, and in contact with each other. Turning now the cover 2() into the plane of the front side l0 and operating by means of the handle 37 the T-shaped member 36, so that the three legs thereof are brought into a vertical plane, it will be easily seen that one of the said legs will engage the cover 2() and keep thereby the receptacle in its closed position. To extend the receptacle, obviously, the reverse operation is necessary, whereafter the milk bottles, groceries, or the like, may be placed into the receptacle, and the same locked by forcing the cover 20 against the sides of the receptacle so as to bring the latch 2t in engagement with the recess 29 in the side l0. The cover can be opened, of course, from the inside of the house only, and more particularly by pulling by means of the flexible member 30 the latch out of engagement with the recess Q9 in the side l0.

By the above described construction and operation, it will be easily seen that the receptacle can only be opened from the inside of its support, and is particularly useful in neighborhoods where milk in bottles is delivered early in the morning, and where it would be easy for .unauthorized persons to appropriate the same.

It is, of course, obvious that many minor changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the several parts withi out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

that I claim is l. In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a collapsible receptacle attached thereto, cooperating locking means on two sides of said receptacle for retaining the same in rigid and operative position, and means extending through said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for actuating said locking means.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a collapsible receptacle attached thereto, cooperative locking means on two sides of said receptacle for retaining the same in rigid and operative position, and flexible means extending through said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for actuating said locking means.

In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a collapsible receptacle attached thereto, a latch carried by one of the sides of said receptacle, a keeper on another side of said receptacle, means for retaining said latch in operative engagement with said keeper, whereby said collapsible receptacle is retained in rigid and operative position, and means extending through said support; and the adjacent side of said receptacle for disengaging said latch from said keeper.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a collapsible receptacle attached thereto, a latch carried by one of the sides of said receptacle, a keeper on another side of said receptacle, means for retaining said latch in operative engagement with said keeper, whereby said collapsible receptacle is retained in rigid and operative position, and tiexible means extending through said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for disengaging said latch from said keeper.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a supporti, of a receptacle, the sides, cover and bottom whereof are adapted to be brought in parallel planes, cooperating locking means on the cover and one of the sides of said receptacle for retaining the same in rigid and operative position, and means extending through said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for actuating said locking means.

(l. In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a receptacle, the sides, cover and bottom whereof are adapted to be brought in parallel planes, cooperating locking meansl on the cover and one of the sides of said receptacle for retaining' the same in rigid and operative position, and flexible means extending throuffh said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for actuating said locking means.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a receptacle, the sides, cover and bottom whereof are adapted to be brought in parallel planes, a latch slidably mounted upon the cover of said receptacle, a keeper on one of the sides thereof, means for retaining .said latch in operative engagement with said keeper, whereby said collapsible receptacle is retained in rigid and operative position, and means extending through said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for disengaging said latch from said keeper.

S. In a device of the class described, the combination with a support, of a receptacle, the sides, cover and bottom whereof are adapted to be brought in parallel planes, a latch slidably mounted upon the cover of said receptacle, a keeper on one of the sides thereof, means for retaining said latch in operative engagement with said keeper, whereby said collapsible receptacle is retained in rigid and operative position, and

, flexible means extending through said support and the adjacent side of said receptacle for disengaging said latch from said keeper.

Signed at New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, this 11th day of March, A. D. 1909.

BARNET SILVERSTEIN.

itnessesz SAMUEL FRANK, ISAAC SILVERSTEIN. 

